The eighth-annual conference, “Adult Congenital Heart Disease in the 21st Century,” hosted by Children’s National Health System and MedStar Washington Hospital Center provides a comprehensive review of the evaluation, diagnosis and management of ACHD, including guidelines to help ACHD patients manage a healthy pregnancy and clinical guidance about the progression of congenital heart disease (CHD) treatment from adolescence through adulthood.

Two tracks accommodate these themes, with the first focusing on a multidisciplinary approach clinicians can use to help ACHD patients assess risks for pregnancy complications, while planning and managing a healthy pregnancy, with input from cardiologists, anesthesiologists and maternal fetal medicine specialists. The second focuses on cardiac defects, starting with anatomical cardiac lessons with 3D heart models, then moves to imaging review, examining echocardiograms and MRI’s, and ends with clinical management review.

“This conference brings the best science and the most innovative approaches to treatment with questions doctors receive in the exam room,” says Anitha John, M.D., Ph.D., the conference organizer and director of the Washington Adult Congenital Heart program at Children’s National. “We’re inviting patients to join the afternoon of the second day of the CME conference again this year to support shared knowledge of these concepts, which supports lifelong treatment and education.”

Dr. John planned this year’s conference with the November 6 ACHD board exams in mind, integrating topics that will appear on the third ACHD certification exam issued by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

At this year’s CME conference, more than a dozen faculty members, including several physicians and nurses from Children’s National, will guide lectures to help attendees meet 13 objectives, from understanding the prevalence of congenital heart disease and its complications to learning about when surgical interventions and referrals to specialists are necessary.

Attendees will review new and innovative PAH therapies, mechanical support therapies, catheter-based interventional procedures and appraise the use of pacemaker and defibrillator therapy among adults with CHD.

Patients and families attending the patient sessions, held from 12:30 to 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, October 5, have a chance to participate in three sessions that support the medical and social needs of ACHD patients. Topics range from workshops that address the neurodevelopment and psychosocial factors of living with a congenital heart defect to sessions that focus on reproductive options for patients and personalized lifestyle recommendations, including fitness and exercise guidelines.

“To support cardiovascular health throughout the lifespan, it helps to educate patients about their heart’s structure and unique needs,” notes Dr. John. “We want to spark a dialogue now and have future conversations with patients, especially while they are young.”

The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines updated ACHD treatment recommendations in August 2018, the first time in 10 years, and many of these guidelines manifest as panel discussions and interactive lectures presented at the 2019 Adult Congenital Heart Disease in the 21st Century conference.

Attendees can receive up to 12.5 credits from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the American Academy of PAs.

Those interested in starting their own ACHD program can attend an evening symposium, entitled “ACHD Program Building 101,” hosted by representatives from the Mid-Atlantic ACHD Regional Group. Topics in the six-session panel range from managing ACHD patients in a pediatric hospital setting to the role of clinical nurse coordinators in ACHD care.

Susannah Jenkins, PA-C, guides a new training program for physician assistants.

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Susannah Jenkins, PA-C, lead physician assistant with the emergency medicine and trauma services department at Children’s National Health System, celebrates three years at Children’s National this September and she’s glad she transitioned from an adult surgical environment to the fast-paced, dynamic environment of working in pediatric emergency medicine (PEM).

With 25 years of health care experience, 13 years as a physician assistant and 12 years as a nurse, Jenkins has worked in a variety of settings, inclusive of adult neurosurgery and high-risk OBGYN care.

“My passion is helping everyone heal, but I particularly enjoy working with children,” notes Jenkins. “Children have an extraordinary ability to bounce back after a fall and recover from a bout of seasonal, flu-like illness. A dose of medication or the correct diagnosis, paired with the right treatment, can sometimes make everything better, almost instantaneously, which is one of the most rewarding parts of working in this field. You get to help and see children heal.”

In addition to providing treatment for a range of pediatric patients, Jenkins works with Deena Berkowitz, M.D., M.P.H., a pediatric emergency medicine physician and assistant professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at Children’s National and the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, to train physician assistants, or PAs, to respond to urgent care needs within a Level 1 trauma center. With the encouragement and guidance of Dr. Berkowitz and Robert J. Freishtat, M.D., M.P.H., chief of emergency medicine at Children’s National, Jenkins expanded on an emergency medicine training program for PAs, which started at Children’s National in 2012.

Jenkins presents the 12-month module at the American Academy of Physician Assistants 2018 Annual Conference in New Orleans on Saturday, May 19, 2018.

“This is all about education,” notes Jenkins. “We’re here to support the PA and we aim to answer questions they have about education goals, competency goals and practice goals in an institutional setting. This template provides the foundation to bridge the gap between post-graduation studies with the skills PAs need and are eager to develop throughout their career.”

Jenkins is currently working with Dr. Berkowitz to develop guidelines for PAs treating medium-acuity patients, inclusive of patients seeking a higher level of primary care, such as for appendicitis, and for PA-training-programs that extend past one year. Jenkins notes the 12-month program she presents at the American Academy of Physician Assistants 2018 Annual Conference is a template that can be applied to any PA subspecialty and is a desirable program for both employers and PA applicants.

“Ultimately, I sought to provide a guide that answered all of my questions I had as a new graduate and as a seasoned PA entering the new subspecialty of pediatric emergency medicine,” says Jenkins. “This program blends the academic science with clinical case studies and practice competencies, making it a modifiable learning platform that’s beneficial for everyone – but specifically designed for PAs. Remember, they enter the field with the desire to support physicians and their patients.”

Her guiding question isn’t on the final test but it helps her with the program design: How can we train PAs to provide the kind of care we want for our children, for our families and for our neighbors?

“I am proud of all of the PAs in this program and of all of the PAs I work with,” Jenkins concludes. “I actively refer them to family members and friends seeking urgent pediatric care. I am confident in the abilities of my group. They represent the type of provider I would send my family and my friends to see, and ultimately your family and friends to see, if they were in need.”

Dr. Berkowitz agrees and is happy with the success the program has had in preparing an average of six to eight PAs each year with the tools they need to launch their career.

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